A. Field of Invention
B. Brief History
In recent years, the need to provide emergency services, including medical, ambulance, and firefighting services, in rugged or tightly defined or enclosed spaces has been addressed by the creation of small variations of traditional fire engines and ambulances, which are typically reconfigured all terrain-type vehicles (ATVs), having a standard ATV chassis configured in the rear portion to receive fire fighting equipment or medical personnel and equipment. One such device is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,300 to Simmons, which discloses a utility vehicle adapted to receive separate, interchangeable modules where each module is outfitted with equipment for responding to a particular type of emergency. Another device is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,880 to Abner, which discloses a mini-ambulance type device built on an all materials transport vehicle chassis. Finally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,785,372 and 5,476,146 to Glatzmeier and Brown respectively, disclose fire fighting vehicles, which are comprised of, in the case of the '146 patent, a modified ATV and in the case of the '372 patent, a fire fighting module adaptable to be received onto utility vehicles.
All of the above referenced devices and other similar devices known in the art essentially utilize a standard ATV-type chassis; however, for reasons discussed herein below, the standard chassis of existing ATVs and similar, suitable, substitutable, all-terrain vehicles are too short to provide adequate room for medical personnel, equipment, and drivers. Often injured individuals either extend out the rear of the vehicle, which is unsafe in difficult terrain, or extend into the front passenger area, which limits a seat in the vehicle for other personnel, or must sit up, which may be impractical. Moreover, the electrical requirements of these vehicles are generally inadequate to the rear compartments of these emergency vehicles, and useful devices, such as scene lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration particularly in medical assistance vehicles. This is not adequately addressed in the current art or the above references. Finally, in extreme conditions, vehicles need to be largely self sufficient, having a suspension, tires, room, and electrical power suitable for enabling the vehicle to approach an emergency, provide assistance, and leave the area safely. What is needed, therefore, is a relatively small emergency care vehicle, that includes a suspension and frame suited for off-road conditions, appropriate auxiliary power supplied to the rear compartment, and a length suitable for receiving and enclosing equipment and personnel, including a stretcher. The following invention addressed these problems.